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ORCA®-Quest 2 qCMOS® camera
C15550-22UP
Groundbreaking in concept and unprecedented in performance.
Since the 1980s, Hamamatsu Photonics has continued to develop high-sensitivity, low-noise cameras using its unique camera design technology and has always contributed to the development of cutting-edge scientific and technological research. The ORCA-Quest is a camera with a qCMOS image sensor developed using our unique design technology and the latest manufacturing techniques. It is also the world's first camera that achieves the ultimate in quantitative imaging by photon number resolving.
The ORCA-Quest 2 is a new qCMOS camera, the successor to the ORCA-Quest with further advances such as faster readout speeds in extremely low-noise scan mode and increased sensitivity in the ultraviolet region.
ORCA and qCMOS are registered trademark of Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (China, EU, Japan, UK, USA).
News about ORCA-Quest
ORCA-Quest qCMOS Camera Named SPIE Prism Awards 2022 Finalist
ORCA-Quest Camera wins the Innovation Award 2022, Biophotonics & Medical Engineering Category
- Evolution from ORCA-Quest
- Four key features
- White paper
- Webinar
- Camera articles
- Applications
- Publications
- PC recommendation
- Software
- Specifications
- Dimensions
- Related documents
- Instruction manual
- Technical note (For the previous model, ORCA-Quest)
- Camera lineup catalog
- Camera simulation lab
- Download contents
Evolution from ORCA-Quest
Faster ultra quiet scan mode
ORCA-Quest had achieved the level to realize photon number resolving owing to ultra-low noise characteristic in ultra quiet scan mode. However, this availability was limited for users because the ultra-low noise was available only when the camera operated in 5 frame per second (in full resolution).
ORCA-Quest 2 has achieved 5 times faster framerate with a similar ultra-low noise characteristic by optimizing the sensor operation. Photon number resolving feature has become available for most of users now!
UV QE improvement
ORCA-Quest possessed high quantum efficiency (QE) in UV region around 280 nm-400 nm, compared to most of conventional scientific cameras.
Inspired by market needs, ORCA-Quest 2 has achieved even higher UV QE by optimizing AR coating of the sensor window, with no change of visible, near infrared wavelength region. The QE improvement expands the versatility of ORCA-Quest series in many kinds of application such as trapped ion quantum experiment.
Raw data output
The feature allows you to apply any algorithms to estimate the number of photoelectron from raw digital signal.
Faster edge trigger mode
The new edge trigger mode enables you to input an external trigger and start exposure during rolling shutter readout, resulting in a faster frame rate.
Four key features
In order to detect weak light with high signal-to-noise, ORCA-Quest 2 has been designed and optimized to every aspect of the sensor from its structure to its electronics. Not only the camera development but also the custom sensor development has been done with latest CMOS technology, an extremely low noise performance of 0.30 electrons has been achieved.
Comparison of average 1 photon per pixel image (pseudo-color)
Exposure time: 200 ms LUT: minimum to maximum value Comparison area: 512 pixels × 512 pixels
Light is a collection of many photons. Photons are converted into electrons on the sensor, and these electrons are called photoelectrons. “Photon number resolving*” is a method of accurately measuring light by counting photoelectrons. In order to count these photoelectrons, camera noise must be sufficiently smaller than the amount of photoelectron signal. Conventional sCMOS cameras achieve a small readout noise, but still larger than photoelectron signal, making it difficult to count photoelectrons. Using advanced camera technology, the ORCA-Quest 2 counts photoelectrons and delivers an ultra-low readout noise of 0.27 electrons rms (@Ultra quiet scan), stability over temperature and time, individual calibration and real-time correction of each pixel value.
* Photon number resolving is unique and quite different from photon counting (More precisely the method resolves the number of photoelectrons. However, since single photon counting instead of single photoelectron counting has been used for a comparable method in this field, we will use the term “photon number resolving”).
Simulation data of photoelectron probability distribution(Average number of photoelectrons generated per pixel: 2 electrons)
High QE is essential for high efficiency of detecting photons and achieved by back-illuminated structure. In conventional back-illuminated sensors, crosstalks occur between pixels due to no pixel separation, and resolutions are usually inferior to those of front-illuminated sensors. The ORCA-Quest 2 qCMOS's sensor has back-illuminated structure for achieving high quantum efficiency, and trench structure in one-by-one pixel for reducing crosstalk.
What is a trench structure?
Measurement result of MTF
Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a type of resolution evaluation. It is the value of how accurately the contrast of an object can be reproduced.
ORCA-Quest 2 realizes ultra-low noise with 9.4 megapixels (4096 (H) × 2304 (V)). ORCA-Quest is capable of capturing a larger number of objects, compared to conventional scientific cameras like Gen Ⅱ sCMOS and EM-CCD camera.
In addition, ORCA-Quest 2 has outstanding performance in terms of its readout speed. Here, we refer to “data rate (number of pixels × frame rate)”, which represents how many pixels a camera read out in 1 second, for comparison among scientific cameras. ORCA-Quest 2 with Standard scan realizes higher data rate even with lower readout noise than conventional sCMOS cameras. Also, ORCA-Quest 2 with Ultraquiet scan realizes photon number resolving imaging with 10 times faster data rate than single photon counting imaging by EM-CCD cameras.
Comparison of pixel
Comparison of data rate
White paper
The evolution of imaging technology is directly linked to new scientific achievements. Scientific imaging has moved many experiments from relying on subjective recording into objectively documentable, repeatable, and quantifiable methods. Demanding and extremely valuable techniques such as single-molecule-based methods would not be possible without appropriate image sensors. The novel quantitative CMOS (qCMOS) technology finally reaches the physical limit: reliable quantification of photon numbers within each pixel, eliminating the influence of technology on the “triangle of frustration” (resolution, sensitivity, speed). This white paper discusses the new image sensor technology that is at the heart of the qCMOS camera. Topics include the semiconductor image sensor, the state of the art approaches to quantitative semiconductor image sensors, The qCMOS image sensor, and the challenges for photon number resolving.
Find detailed information in our White Paper below.
Webinar
We are at the dawn of a new era in CMOS and scientific imaging technology. To fully appreciate why the release of our new ORCA-Quest quantitative CMOS (qCMOS) camera with photon-number resolving technology is an engineering feat that can enable new paths of discovery in biology, physics, astronomy and quantum research, we invite you to watch our launch-day webinar by Dr. Peter Seitz. Dr. Seitz will briefly review the history of semiconductor image sensors and the principles of sensor design and show how applying the principles of photon and camera noise combined with advances in semi-conductor manufacturing culminated in the world’s first qCMOS technology.
Laurin Publishing Company, Inc. are producers and owners of the recording from May 19, 2021.
Camera articles
qCMOS camera vs. EM-CCD camera – Performance comparison of Photon counting cameras
The qCMOS camera is positioned as an ultra-sensitive camera that offers the ultimate in quantitative imaging because of its extremely low noise performance. Therefore, when comparing a qCMOS and EM-CCD camera it is necessary to judge which camera is best suited to your application.
The purpose of this article is to compare qCMOS and EM-CCD cameras to help you choose the best camera for your application.
Applications
Neutral atom, Trapped ion
Neutral atoms and ions are aligned one by one in an array to be utilized as Qubits for Quantum computing. The qubit states can be determined by observing the fluorescence from each of them. The measurement of the fluorescence needs to be done in short time and then photodetectors with very low noise and high speed are needed. ORCA-Quest 2 can do both of diagnosis of the whole qubit array and state detection of each qubit with very low noise characteristics and high speed readout. Also, the QE covers wide range of wavelength for major ion and atom species.
Fluorescence imaging of Rb atom array with ORCA-Quest
Data courtery of: Takashi Yamamoto and Asst. Prof. Toshiki Kobayashi, Osaka University
Quantum optics
Quantum optics uses single photon sources to make use of the Quantum nature of the single photon.The quantum optics research also uses single photon counting detectors, and now there are emerging needs of photon number resolving detectors to distinguish photon numbers coming into the detectors.A photon counting camera, a new concept in camera technologies, is expected to make a new discovery in this field.
Experimental setup of Quantum imaging with ORCA-Quest
Images of Quantum imaging with ORCA-Quest
Data courtery of: Miles Padgett, University of Glasgow
Super resolution microscopy
Super resolution microscopy refers to a collection of methods to get a microscope image with higher spatial resolution than diffraction limit.The super resolution microscopy needs scientific cameras with combination of very low noise and small pixel size, resulting in a higher resolution.
Super resolution images from ORCA-Quest
qCMOS camera / 4.6 μm pixel size
Super resolution images from ORCA-Fusion
Gen III sCMOS camera / 6.5 μm pixel size
Experimental setup with ORCA-Quest
Provided by Steven Coleman at Visitech international with their VT-iSIM, high speed super resolution live cell imaging system.
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence microscopy has been gaining attentions because of the unique advantages against the conventional fluorescence microscopy, such as no need of excitation light.The major drawback of the bioluminescence is its very low light intensity, resulting in long exposure time and low image quality.The bioluminescence research needs highly sensitive cameras even in long exposure.
NanoLuc fusion protein ARRB2 and Venus fusion protein V2R are nearby and BRET is occurring.
Overall image in the field of view（Objective: 20× / Exposure Time: 30sec / Binning: 4×4）
Appearance of the microscope system
Data courtery of: Dr.Masataka Yanagawa, Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science , Tohoku University
Delayed fluorescence in plants
Plants release a very small portion of the light energy they absorb for photosynthesis as light over a period of time. This phenomenon is known as delayed fluorescence. By detecting this faint light, it is possible to observe the effects of chemicals, pathogens, the environment, and other stressors on plants.
Delayed fluorescence of ornamental plants (exposure for 10 seconds after 10 seconds of excitation light quenching)
Lucky imaging
When observing stars from the ground, the image of the star can be blurred due to atmospheric turbulence therefore substantially reducing the ability to capture clear images. However, with short exposures and the right atmospheric conditions, you can sometimes capture clear images. For this reason, lucky imaging is a method of acquiring a large number of images and integrating only the clearest ones while aligning them.
Orion Nebula (Color image with 3 wavelength filters)
Imaging setup
Adaptive optics
Adaptive optics is a method where systems immediately correct the wavefront of incoming light which is disturbed by atmospheric fluctuations. In order to perform real-time and highly accurate wavefront correction, a camera needs to get images with high speed and high spatial resolution. In addition, the camera also needs high sensitivity because the wavefront correction is performed in a very dark condition where a laser guide star is measured.
Wavefront correction by adaptive optics
Comparison of adaptive optics＊
*Data courtery of: Kodai Yamamoto, Ph.D., Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University
For imaging of X-ray or other kinds of high energy particles, a scientific camera coupled with a scintillator is often used. Low noise and high speed are required in the imaging system to detect momentary phenomena.
X-ray phase contrast CT image of mouse embryo
X-ray phase contrast CT image of mouse embryo from ORCA-Quest combined with High resolution X-ray imaging system (M11427)
Exposure time: 15 msec, Total measurement time: 6.5 min
Experimental setup
Camera setup
Data courtery of: SPring-8 BL20B2 beamline by Dr. Masato Hoshino, Senior researcher in Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)
Raman effect is the scattering of light at a wavelength different from that of the incident light, and Raman spectroscopy is a technique for determining the material properties by measuring this wavelength. Raman spectroscopy enables structural analysis at the molecular level, which provides information on chemical bonding, crystallinity, etc.
Raman spectrum (single frame) comparison under condition of equal photon number per pixel in line scan type Raman imaging system
Raman Image
qCMOS
EM-CCD
@10 photon/pixel/frame, 532 nm laser excitation
Reference: Photon number resolving capability of qCMOS camera for Raman spectroscopy and imaging
Publications
- ORCA-Quest
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Application Auther Title Source Quantum Computing Dolev Bluvstein, Simon J. Evered, Alexandra A. Geim, Sophie H. Li, Hengyun Zhou, Tom Manovitz, Sepehr Ebadi, Madelyn Cain, Marcin Kalinowski, Dominik Hangleiter, J. Pablo Bonilla Ataides, Nishad Maskara, Iris Cong, Xun Gao, Pedro Sales Rodriguez, Thomas Karolyshyn, Giulia Semeghini, Michael J. Gullans, Markus Greiner, Vladan Vuletić & Mikhail D. Lukin Logical quantum processor based on reconfigurable atom arrays Nature (2023) Quantum Computing Hannah J. Manetsch, Gyohei Nomura, Elie Bataille, Kon H. Leung, Xudong Lv, Manuel Endres A tweezer array with 6100 highly coherent atomic qubits arXiv:2403.12021 (2024) Quantum Imaging Osian Wolley, Thomas Gregory, Sebastian Beer, Takafumi Higuchi , Miles Padgett Quantum imaging with a photon counting camera Scientific Reports volume 12, Article number: 8286 (2022) Quantum Imaging Mohammadreza Rezaee, etal. Observation of Nonclassical Photon Statistics in Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence arXiv:2203.11337 Life Science József Berke, István Gulyás, Zoltán Bognár, Dávid Berke, Attila Enyedi, Veronika Kozma-Bognár, Péter Mauchart, Bernadett Nagy, Ákos Várnagy, Kálmán Kovács & József Bódis Unique algorithm for the evaluation of embryo photon emission and viability Nature (2024) Life Science Luis Felipe Morales-Curiel, et al. Volumetric imaging of fast cellular dynamics with deep learning enhanced bioluminescence microscopy Commun Biol 5, 1330 (2022). Life Science
Mbaye Diouf, et al. Multiphoton imaging using a quantitative CMOS camera Proceedings Volume 11965, Multiphoton Microscopy in the Biomedical Sciences XXII; 119650D (2022) Astronomy Sébastien Vievard, et al. Photonic spectro-interferometry with SCExAO/FIRST at the Subaru Telescope: towards H-alpha imaging of protoplanets Proc. SPIE 12680, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, 126800H (5 October 2023) HEP/Synchrotron A. Cools, et al X-ray imaging with Micromegas detectors with optical readout JINST 18 C06019 HEP/Synchrotron Seiichi Yamamoto, et al. Sub-micrometer real-time imaging of trajectory of alpha particles using GAGG plate and CMOS camera 2024 JINST 19 P01010 Image Sensors Katsuhiro Nakamoto and Hisaya Hotaka Efficient and accurate conversion-gain estimation of a photon-counting image sensor based on the maximum likelihood estimation Opt. Express 30, 37493-37506 (2022)
PC recommendation
With the introduction of the ORCA-Quest, users are now able to stream 9.4 megapixel images to their computers 120 frames per second. The computer recommendations for this high data rate can be met by using the guidelines listed this PC Recommendations for ORCA-Quest.
Software
Our software provides the interface to access all of our carefully engineered camera features, from simply setting exposure to orchestrating complex triggering for multidimensional experiments.
Specifications
| Type number | C15550-22UP |
|---|---|
| Imaging device | qCMOS image sensor |
| Effective no. of pixels | 4096 (H) × 2304 (V) |
| Cell size | 4.6 μm (H) × 4.6 μm (V) |
| Effective area | 18.841 mm (H) × 10.598 mm (V) |
| Quantum efficiency | 85 % (peak QE) (typ.) |
| Full well capacity | 7000 electrons (typ.) |
| Readout speed | Standard scan*1: 120 frames/s (At full resolution, CoaXPress), 17.6 frames/s (At full resolution, USB) Ultra quiet scan, PNR, Raw *2: 25.4 frames/s (At full resolution, CoaXPress), 17.6 frames/s (At full resolution, USB) |
| Readout noise | Standard scan: 0.43 electrons rms (typ.), 0.39 electrons median (typ.) Ultra quiet scan: 0.30 electrons rms (typ.), 0.25 electrons median (typ.) |
| Exposure time | Standard scan*1: 7.2 μs to 1800 s Ultra quiet scan, PNR, Raw *2: 33.9 μs to 1800 s |
| Cooling temperature | Forced-air cooled (Ambient temperature: +25 °C) : -20 ℃ Water cooled (Water temperature: +25 °C)*3 : -20 ℃ Water cooled (Max cooling; The water temperature is +20 ℃ and the ambient temperature is +20 ℃) *3: -35 ℃ (typ.) |
| Dark current | Forced-air cooled (Ambient temperature: +25 °C) : 0.016 electrons/pixels/s (typ.) Water cooled (Water temperature: +25 °C) : 0.016 electrons/pixels/s (typ.) Water cooled (Max cooling; The water temperature is +20 ℃ and the ambient temperature is +20 ℃) : 0.006 electrons/pixels/s (typ.) |
| Dynamic range | 23 000 : 1 (rms) (typ.), 28 000 : 1 (median) (typ.)*4 |
| External trigger mode | Edge / Global reset edge / Level / Global reset level / Sync readout / Start |
| External trigger signal routing | SMA |
| Trigger delay function | 0 s to 10 s in 1 μs steps |
| Trigger output | Global exposure timing output / Any-row exposure timing output / Trigger ready output / 3 programmable timing outputs / High output / Low output |
| External signal output routing | SMA |
| Image processing functions | Defect pixel correction (ON or OFF, hot pixel correction 3 steps) |
| Emulation mode | Available (ORCA-Quest, ORCA-Fusion) |
| Interface | USB 3.1 Gen 1, CoaXPress (Quad CXP-6) |
| A/D converter | 16 bit, 12 bit, 8 bit |
| Lens mount | C-mount*5 |
| Power supply | AC100 V to AC240 V, 50 Hz/60 Hz |
| Power consumption | Approx. 155 VA |
| Ambient operating temperature | 0 °C to +40 °C |
| Ambient storage temperature | －10 °C to +50 °C |
| Ambient operating humidity | 30 % to 80 % (With no condensation) |
| Ambient storage humidity | 90 % Max. (With no condensation) |
*1: Normal area readout mode only
*2: PNR mode and Raw mode can be switched via DCAM configurator. The PNR mode is selected by default.
*3: Water volume is 0.46 L/m.
*4: Calculated from the ratio of the full well capacity and the readout noise in ultra quiet scan
*5: A product for F-mount (C15550-22UP01) is also available. If you wish, please contact your local Hamamatsu representative or distributor. F-mount has a light leakage due to its structure and it might affect your measurements especially with longer exposure time.
Dimensions
We publish case study articles of our ORCA-Quest customers.
Related documents
Instruction manual
Technical note (For the previous model, ORCA-Quest)
Camera lineup catalog
Camera simulation lab
When using a camera for industrial or research applications, it is necessary to select a camera considering various conditions such as wavelength and light intensity of the object to be captured. We offer the "Camera simulation lab", a tool that allows users to intuitively compare the differences in imaging results due to camera performance while checking the simulated images.
Download contents
Featuring valuable interviews with astronomers and an overview of our camera lineup
Astronomy is a field where various research is being conducted to discover and explore unknown celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena. This brochure introduces examples of such applications and our cameras suitable for each application.
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